Vetting journal advertisements

Glenda Proctor

doi:10.1503/cmaj.081549

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Coca-Cola Company is not innocent
Joel Lexchin

Posted on: 06 November 2008

Posted on: (6 November 2008)
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Coca-Cola Company is not innocent
Joel Lexchin
Coca-Cola Canada may not directly advertise to children but that does not mean that the company is not guilty of promoting the consumption of sugar. In the United States in 2001 the Coca-Cola Company contributed $200,000 to the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), an organization that is a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries.1 The CCF “lobbies aggressively against obesity-related public health c...
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Coca-Cola Canada may not directly advertise to children but that does not mean that the company is not guilty of promoting the consumption of sugar. In the United States in 2001 the Coca-Cola Company contributed $200,000 to the Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), an organization that is a front group for the restaurant, alcohol and tobacco industries.1 The CCF “lobbies aggressively against obesity-related public health campaigns, legislation to regulate marketing of junk food to children, and scientists who advocate for healthier diets.”2
Coca-Cola is also a member of the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union (CIAA). Both organizations opposed the original version of the World Health Organization (WHO) report “Diet Nutrition and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases.” That report had a reference to a joint WHO/Food and Agricultural Organization technical document recommending that people limit their daily consumption of free sugars to less than 10 per cent of total energy intake and which called for its recommendations to be translated into national guidelines. It was only after the reference to that technical document was removed that the GMA and CIAA dropped their opposition to the WHO report.3
Coca-Cola has a clear role in promoting the consumption of sugar. Advertisements from the company should not be tolerated in the CMAJ.
References
1. SourceWatch. Center for Consumer Freedom. 2008. (Accessed November 5, 2008 at http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php? title=Center_for_Consumer_Freedom) 2. Ludwig DS, Nestle M. Can the food industry play a constructive role in the obesity epidemic? JAMA 2008;300:1808-11. 3. Zarocostas J. WHA adopts landmark global strategy on diet and health. Lancet 2004;363:1775.
Conflict of Interest:
None declared
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Competing Interests: None declared.